VOC3B - Medical Council of New Zealand

Guide to providing a complete application for
registration within a vocational scope of practice
VOC3-B
July 2014
For doctors who hold a postgraduate medical qualification which is not the
prescribed New Zealand or Australasian postgraduate medical qualification
Vocational registration application process
1. You submit an application for vocational registration to the Medical Council of New Zealand (Council).
2. Once complete, your application is sent to the relevant local specialist training college (Vocational Education
and Advisory Bodies (VEABs) for assessment and preliminary advice.
3. The VEAB provides preliminary advice usually within 4 weeks of receiving the application.
4. Council staff draft a memo to Council’s Registration Committee, detailing the VEAB’s preliminary advice and
whether or not you should be granted eligibility for provisional vocational registration.
5. If appropriate, the Registration Committee agrees to grant you eligibility for provisional vocational registration.
6. Usually within 4 weeks of Council receiving the VEAB’s preliminary advice, you are sent a letter of eligibility for
provisional vocational registration.
7. You find a job in New Zealand, if you do not already have one.
8. Council and the VEAB approve your job, subject to the provision of suitable supervision by your employer.
9. If your job is approved, you will be sent a letter confirming that you have met the requirements for provisional
vocational registration.
10. You attend a 30 minute registration meeting with Council before starting work in New Zealand.
11. You are granted provisional vocational registration, issued a practising certificate and start work under
supervision.
12. You attend an interview with the VEAB usually within 3 months of arriving in New Zealand.
13. The VEAB provides final advice usually within 4 weeks of the interview.
14. Council staff draft a memo to Council’s Registration Committee, detailing the VEAB’s final advice and the
requirements you must meet to be granted full vocational registration.
15. If appropriate, the Registration Committee agrees to the requirements you must meet to be granted full
vocational registration.
16. Usually within 4 weeks of Council receiving the VEAB’s final advice, you are sent a letter confirming the
requirements you must meet for full vocational registration.
17. When you meet the requirements, you can apply for full vocational registration.
Please note: if you are already working in New Zealand and hold another form of registration, your application will
be sent to the VEAB with a request that they contact you to arrange an interview, so only points 1 and 12 to 17 will
apply for you.
Role of Vocational Education and Advisory Bodies
Council has authorised the Vocational Education and Advisory Bodies (VEABs) to act as agents of Council. The VEAB
assesses the eligibility of applicants for vocational registration who are international medical graduate specialists,
holding a relevant postgraduate medical qualification, but not a New Zealand/Australasian postgraduate medical
qualification.
The VEAB considers the applicant’s qualifications, training and experience and compares them against the
New Zealand/Australasian standard, which is a vocationally registered doctor holding the
New Zealand/Australasian postgraduate medical qualification.
The VEAB must assess the individual merits of each applicant’s qualifications, training and experience as no two
applicants’ circumstances will be the same.
Council may ask the VEAB to provide preliminary advice and/or interview advice. The VEAB provides preliminary
advice based on an assessment of the applicant’s paper application only. The VEAB provides interview advice based
on an assessment of the applicant’s paper application and on information obtained directly from the applicant at an
interview.
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Council relies on the VEAB’s advice to decide if an applicant should be granted eligibility to meet the requirements for
vocational registration and to determine what those requirements should be. Council will provide the applicant with a
copy of the VEAB’s advice with formal notification of its decision.
Council also relies on the VEAB’s advice in determining whether or not the applicant’s proposed employment and
supervision arrangements are suitable.
Preliminary advice
If you are overseas and would like an initial indication of your likelihood of success, your application will be sent to
the VEAB for assessment and preliminary advice. Based on the VEAB’s preliminary advice, you may be granted
eligibility for provisional vocational registration, which would enable you to work in New Zealand. We will charge the
preliminary advice fee if you tick the box on the VOC3 application form, but it will be refunded if preliminary advice is
not required. Payment of the fee must be made to Council, but 100% of the fee is paid to the VEAB.
If you request preliminary advice, the VEAB has 4 weeks to assess your paper application and provide Council with
preliminary advice. Following receipt of the advice, Council will take a further 4 weeks to process the advice and
provide you with a decision on your eligibility for provisional vocational registration. You should allow 8-10 weeks for
Council to provide you with a decision. Please note: the clock only starts ticking once your application is complete.
Please also note: preliminary advice is a way to get an early indication of your likelihood of success in being granted
vocational registration but, in most cases, it will not replace the interview stage.
Interview advice
On arrival in New Zealand (or if you are already in New Zealand), it is likely that you will be required to attend an
interview with the VEAB to determine the requirements you will need to complete for vocational registration. We will
charge the interview Fee if you tick the box on the VOC3 application form, but it will be refunded if an interview is not
required. Payment of the fee must be made to Council, but 100 percent of the fee is paid to the VEAB.
If you wish to skip the preliminary advice stage and go directly to the interview stage, upon receiving your complete
application, the VEAB has 3 months to arrange and conduct the interview. Following the interview, the VEAB has
4 weeks to provide advice to Council. Following receipt of the advice, Council will take a further 4 weeks to process
the advice and provide you with a decision on your eligibility for provisional vocational registration. You should allow
5-6 months for Council to provide you with a decision. Please note: the clock only starts ticking once your application
is complete.
VEAB interview
The VEAB interview will be conducted by an interview panel, usually three people, and will last for about one hour.
The interview will take place face-to-face at the VEAB’s office or at a mutually agreed site (or in some cases via
videoconference).
During the interview you will be asked about:
components of your training and the assessments and examinations you have undertaken
your experience as a consultant since completing your training
some general questions relevant to the branch of medicine in which you have trained and want to practise,
including questions about clinical practices
your continuing professional development, including peer review and audit activities
cultural and ethical issues relevant to the practice of medicine in New Zealand, including the Treaty of Waitangi.
The interview panel will be required to ensure that you understand:
the level of competence and safety required of a doctor holding vocational registration
the range of practice required of a doctor holding vocational registration.
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Possible outcomes
If Council resolves to approve your vocational registration application, you may be required to complete one, or a
combination, of the following requirements to be granted vocational registration:
6-18 months of supervised practice
a period of supervised practice at a training hospital
a vocational practice assessment, whereupon you would be visited at your workplace by two specialists in the
same area of medicine, who would observe you in practice for a day
a pass in the relevant VEAB’s Fellowship examination
any other requirements decided by Council.
If Council proposes to decline your application, you will have the opportunity to appeal against Council’s proposed
decision by making a submission to be considered at Council’s next meeting (Council meets every two months). At the
meeting, Council will consider your submission and will resolve either to approve or to decline your application. If
Council resolves to decline your application, you may appeal against the decision in the District Court.
Complete vocational registration application
A completed VOC3 application form
Three referee reports
An up to date curriculum vitae (CV)
Certified copies of your primary and postgraduate medical qualifications (as well as official English translations,
if applicable)
Training/examination information
For surgical scopes: a copy of your logbook of procedures
Evidence of your continuing medical education in your area of medicine.
You do not need to have a job in New Zealand to apply for vocational registration. However, if you have been offered
a job in New Zealand, please also provide the following, in consultation with your employer:
REG7 form – application for approval of position and supervisor
Job offer
Job description
Supervision, induction and orientation plan.
Referee reports
Three referee reports must be provided in support of your vocational registration application.
All three referees must be specialists in the area of medicine in which you are applying for vocational
registration.
All three referees must have worked with you for at least 6 months within the 3 last years and be able to
comment on your current specialist practice.
At least one referee must be from your current or most recent place of employment.
Council staff will contact your referees directly, requesting that they each complete and return Council’s RP6
form.
CV (curriculum vitae)
List the dates of your appointments since completing your primary medical qualification in chronological order
and in month/year format (e.g. August 2009-September 2010).
Provide explanations of any gaps in your employment/appointment history.
Provide descriptions of each appointment, including details of the hospital/department in which you worked;
the number of hours per week you worked; your day-to-day duties/responsibilities, etc.
List all of your relevant qualifications, memberships, etc.
List all of your publications, presentations, etc.
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Certified documents and English language translations
You will need to provide certified copies of the following:
Your passport photo page
Evidence of your name change (if applicable), e.g. your marriage certificate, divorce decree, etc.
Your primary medical qualification
Your postgraduate medical qualification(s)
Your certificate of completion of training or equivalent, if you are a UK trained specialist
Your International English Language Testing System (IELTS) results (if applicable).
The above documents can be certified by the following:
Chartered Accountants
Commissioners of Oath
Council staff or agents
Justices of the Peace
Notaries Public
Police Officers
Registrars of the District Court
Solicitors.
Hard copies of the certified copies must be forwarded to Council’s office; electronic copies are not acceptable.
If any of the above documents are not in the English language, you will need to obtain official English translations. The
originals of the official English translations must be forwarded to Council’s office.
Name variations
If the spelling of your name is inconsistent on your primary and postgraduate medical qualifications and passport,
you will need to either provide evidence of your name change, such as a certified copy of your marriage certificate or
divorce decree, or, if the inconsistencies are due to misspellings/varying transliterations, you will need to provide an
original statutory declaration or affidavit. Please refer to the statutory declaration form on Council’s website:
Statutory Declaration.
Training and examination information
You will need to provide a detailed description of the postgraduate training and examinations you undertook in the
area of medicine in which you are applying for vocational registration.
Provide either a copy of your syllabus or your own detailed description, which must include details of the following:
general medical experience, including length, structure, areas of medicine covered, etc.
basic training in the area of medicine in which you are applying for vocational registration, including length,
structure, aspects of specialty covered, etc.
advanced training in the area of medicine in which you are applying for vocational registration, including length,
structure, aspects of specialty covered, etc.
subspecialty training , including length, structure, etc.
in-training assessments, including provision of supervision/oversight, feedback on progress, etc. Provide copies
of your in-training assessment reports (e.g. RITAs for UK-trained applicants)
in-training research project
was your training overseen, assessed and accredited by an external body (e.g. a nation- or statewide training
institution/regulatory authority/etc.)?
examinations, including:
- entry examination
- in-training examination(s)
- exit examination
- content and structure of the above examinations (e.g. written, oral, clinical, MCQ, viva components).
were your training and examinations overseen, assessed and accredited by an external body (e.g. a nation- or
state-wide training institution/regulatory authority/etc.)? Provide details.
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Logbook information (for surgical scopes only)
You will need to provide a copy of your logbook of procedures, preferably covering the period of your postgraduate
training and the period since you were awarded your postgraduate medical qualification. The logbook should
include:
the name of each procedure performed
the number of each procedure performed
your role in performing each procedure.
Please ensure that all patient identifying information has been removed.
Continuing medical education
You will need to provide evidence of your continuing medical education in your area of medicine. If you are
participating in a formal continuing professional development/recertification programme, please provide copies of
your participation certificates or equivalent evidence. Alternatively, list the dates, locations and topics of
courses/conferences you have attended within the last 5 years and provide copies of your participation certificates or
equivalent evidence.
Information to provide when applying for vocational registration in General Practice
You will need to ensure that you provide the following details with your application:
Describe general practice in the countries where you have worked, e.g.:
Is it community or hospital based?
Is it the first point of contact for health services?
What role do nurses play in your general practice?
What other allied professionals work in your general practice or the community that you refer patients to?
Describe your general practice training:
Who were you taught by and where were you taught?
How much training was hospital based and how much in general practice?
What postgraduate general practice assessments did you do?
What audits and patient surveys have been done – practice wide/personal to you?
Is there a training manual to verify the above?
Described your work experience:
Dates of hospital rotations, specialty runs, names of hospitals
Dates for general practice work (start and finish), names of practices, roles undertaken, time worked shown as
tenths
Description of daily/weekly workload
Description of general practice work, e.g.:
- How much direct patient contact and clinical work?
- Variety of patients: age, gender, social factors, types of problems seen, continuity of care, etc.
- Types of care: acute care and chronic care management
- What hospital clinics or inpatient care is done while working in general practice?
Describe your ongoing professional development:
What ongoing continuing medical education have you done?
What peer review has been undertaken?
What recertification assessments have been done?
What publications or research have you been involved in?
How much time has been spent out of practice?
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Information to provide when applying for vocational registration in Psychiatry
You will need to provide summaries of the following:
1. General adult psychiatry (inpatient and outpatient)
2. Child and adolescent psychiatry
3. Old age psychiatry
4. Addiction psychiatry
5. Consultation-Liaison psychiatry
6. Psychotherapy
7. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)
8. External examinations in psychiatry.
For each of the areas (1) to (5) above, list the duration of training in that area in months of Full Time Equivalents
(FTEs). This is easiest for doctors who worked in discrete rotations, such as 6 months of old age psychiatry followed by
6 months of general adult outpatient psychiatry. For doctors who have more ‘all in’ training, please calculate the
portion of time in each area. For example, a doctor who spends 6 months training in a mixture of general adult
inpatient (4/10), general adult outpatient (4/10) and child psychiatry (2/10) converts to 2.4 months FTE in each of the
general adult inpatient and outpatient areas and 1.2 month of child and adolescent experience. As well as the
durations in these areas, list the types of patients seen, approximate numbers of patients (caseload), treatments
offered and the nature of supervision for each experience.
Areas (6) and (7) above are less likely to be discrete rotations (though some doctors may have done specific
psychotherapy placements during training). Provide an overview of the nature of your supervised experiences in
psychotherapy and somatic therapy (specifically ECT). Again, it is helpful to indicate the approximate number of
patients treated and, for psychotherapy, the type(s) of therapy employed and approximate number of sessions.
For area (8) provide details of the external examinations you sat, often with written and clinical components, that
must be passed to gain your specialist qualification. Examples of such examinations include UK MRCPsych Part I and II
exams, US Board Certification exams or Indian MD(Psych) or DNB exams. Provide a brief summary of the nature of the
external examinations that you sat and your performance in these examinations (e.g. number of attempts to pass).
Council’s English language policy
You must meet one of Council’s six English language policy requirements. Please refer to the VOC3 application form
or the policy for more information: VOC3 form or Policy on English language requirements.
Health disclosures
If you are, or have ever been, affected by a mental or physical condition with the capacity to affect your ability to
perform the functions required for the practice of medicine, you will need to provide the following information:
a description of your condition(s), treatment and current health status
the name(s) and contact details of your treating practitioner(s) – Council’s Health Manager may contact your
treating practitioner(s) for more information regarding your condition(s).
All health disclosures must be considered by the Health Manager, who must sign off on the disclosure(s) before your
application can proceed.
Convictions
If a court in New Zealand, or elsewhere, has convicted you of any offence(s) punishable by a period of imprisonment
of 3 months or longer, you will need to provide certified copies of your conviction notice(s). You do not need to
provide details of convictions concealed under the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004. To find out if your
convictions (if any) are concealed under this Act, please consult the Ministry of Justice website www.justice.govt.nz or
a lawyer.
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Character, competence or conduct disclosures
If you are, or have ever been, subject to any official investigations or proceedings regarding your character,
competence or conduct, you will need to provide the following information:
a description of event(s)(include claimant’s name, date of incident, place of incident, date of claim and incident
summary, outcome and date of outcome)
any documentation available (court documents, correspondence from your lawyers, insurance company and the
regulatory authority)
certificates of good standing from every jurisdiction in which you have practised in the last 5 years and from any
jurisdiction(s) in which the investigation(s) or proceedings occurred, if more than 5 years ago.
All character, competence and conduct disclosures must be considered by Council’s Medical Adviser and Professional
Standards Manager, who must sign off on the disclosure(s) before your application can proceed.
Certificates of good standing
Before you can start work in New Zealand, Council will need to receive original certificates of good standing from
every jurisdiction in which you have practised in the last 5 years. Certificates of good standing are valid for 3 months
and must be dated within 3 months of your start date in New Zealand. Certificates of good standing are normally
issued by a national or state level registration authority (usually the local equivalent to the Medical Council of
New Zealand). In most cases, the registration authority will send the certificate of good standing directly to Council;
however, you will need to request the certificates.
If you have character, competence or conduct disclosures, Council will need to receive original certificates of good
standing from every jurisdiction in which you have practised in the last 5 years, as well as from the jurisdiction(s) in
which the incident(s) occurred, if more than 5 years ago. As certificates of good standing are only valid for 3 months,
it is likely that you will need to request further certificates closer to your start date in New Zealand.
Council registration meeting
Following your arrival in New Zealand, you will need to attend a registration meeting with a Council agent who will
confirm your identity; sight and take certified copies of your original documents; confirm your practice intentions and
receive your practising certificate fee and certificate(s) of good standing (if not sent directly to Council’s office).
Council has agents based in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin. You can also meet with a staff member at Council’s
office in Wellington. You will be provided with the Council agents’ contact details, together with a list of the
documents you will need to present at the registration meeting, with the letter confirming that you have met the
requirements for provisional vocational registration.
Practising certificate
Following the Council registration meeting, the certified copies of your original documents will need to be forwarded
to Council’s office in Wellington. Once received, Council staff will process the documents and issue your practising
certificate, which will be emailed to you. Please allow at least 5 working days for your practising certificate to be
issued. The fee for your first practising certificate will be calculated using your employment start date. Wherever
possible, we will advise you of the amount to be paid in your letter of eligibility for provisional vocational registration.
The Council agent will confirm the amount to be paid at the registration meeting.
Please note: you must have a practising certificate before you can start work.
Where to send your application
Level 6, 80 The Terrace, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (for packages)
PO Box 10 509, The Terrace, Wellington, 6143, New Zealand (for letters)
Contact: from overseas +64 4 384 7635, or from within NZ 0800 286 801
You can send any queries to registration@mcnz.org.nz.
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